nder the heading of "Protecting the public's need to know" and the journalist's right to protect confidential sources, it becomes more and more necessary that Congress should pass a law to shield reporters from being compelled to reveal their sources - in most cases. Obviously the 4th Estate should not be free to reveal government secrets that are vital to our nation's security. In case the president needs reminding, the Founding Fathers believed the role of the gatherers of news was of critical importance and so they enshrined a free press in the First Amendment. In the recent past several journalists have been subpoenaed, held in contempt of court, or jailed for refusing to name names. The Christian Science Monitor reported recently that last year, a New York Times reporter spent 85 days in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury in a probe about the Valerie Plame-CIA leak. Earlier this month, five news organizations paid $750,000 to the former nuclear lab scientist Wen Ho Lee to avoid having to tell him their sources in his suit against the government. The Bush administration is taking a firm stance with journalists regarding their use of classified material. The CSM states that the government is considering prosecuting reporters who publish official security secrets and according to Sen. Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana, "Over 30 reporters were recently served or threatened with jail sentences in at least four different federal jurisdictions for refusing to reveal confidential sources".
If newspapers, journalists, radio and TV reporters et al do not have the right to protect their sources, the number of whistle-blowers or sources will diminish considerably.
It was reported three weeks ago that the FBI is demanding a half-century's worth of the files collected by the famous, now deceased, investigative columnist Jack Anderson. It appears that after so many years, they believe that Jack had top secret information. I wonder if I'll be hearing a knock on the door from the Feds - Anderson was a guest on the air with me, I'd guess, once a month for 25 years.
There should be a national shield law. What the House and Senate must work through in their proposals is how "free" is "free".